http://bible.com/events/49181108

Church of the Nazarene – Harrisonburg

God With Us – In the Uncertainty

The question is not can I trust Him. But…will I?

Today we continue our Advent series entitled “God with Us”.

Christmas, in a word, is about presence. You can’t talk about the significance of Christmas, the most life-changing story in human history, without talking about presence.

The presence of God with us is such a foundational part of Christmas, and this week we focus specifically on how we can experience His presence in seasons of uncertainty.

The story of Christmas challenges us to see that living in the will of God does not mean the absence of uncertainty. Living in the will of God often means trusting His plan in the face of great uncertainty.

Luke 1:26-38

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.” “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

Mary chose faith in the face of immense uncertainty. With her answer, Mary literally put her life on the line. Remember she is legally married, betrothed to her husband. To be found pregnant made her guilty of adultery, punishable by death. Her family would likely disown her.

Matthew 1:18-25

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Can you imagine the uncertainty that crashed onto the shore of Josephs life when Mary came to him with a baby bump and the story of Gabriel? What was he supposed to do? He loved Mary, he loved the Lord, how could this happen?

Joseph’s dreams were seemingly shattered by the mayhem of uncertainty.

But the promise of Presence in the midst of uncertainty changed everything for Joseph.

One of the hardest things in uncertainty is all of the questions that happen in our minds:

What’s going to happen?

What should I do?

Am I going to be okay?

Are the people I care about going to be okay?

What is God doing?

What am I missing?

Did I make a mistake?

And so many more ….

Can you relate?

We all have questions. In the midst of uncertainty, we all face questions.

The ultimate question in the midst of our uncertainty is this:

Can God be trusted?

Two powerful truths in the midst of uncertainty:

1. God keeps his promises

2. God is with us, even in uncertainty

Bottom Line:

The question is not can I trust Him, but will I?

Verses for further study/reflection:

Proverbs 3:5-8

Mark 9:24

Acts 17:24-27

James 1:5-8

Jude 1:22

Updates on the new Waynesboro campus

God is inviting us to step out in faith to plant a Spanish-speaking campus in the Waynesboro community. Join us on the journey!

Check out the link below for more information and for frequent updates throughout the journey.

Waynesboro

Giving at COTN

If you ever have questions or need help with online giving, please let us know: finance@cotnaz.org Thank you for your partnership in building the Kingdom of Christ as you impact others!

Giving

https://www.bible.com/events/49179748

Church of the Nazarene – East Rock

God With Us – In the Uncertainty

Living in the will of God often means trusting His plan in the face of great uncertainty.

Today we continue our Advent series entitled “God with Us”.

Christmas, in a word, is about presence. You can’t talk about the significance of Christmas, the most life-changing story in human history, without talking about presence.

This week we begin by understanding why the presence of God with us is such a foundational part of Christmas, and how we can experience His presence in seasons of uncertainty.

The story of Christmas challenges us to see that living in the will of God does not mean the absence of uncertainty. Living in the will of God often means trusting His plan in the face of great uncertainty.

Today, Christmas season 2023, will you trust in the one called Immanuel, God with us?

The story of Christmas may be the best evidence that we can trust his plan, no matter what.

‭‭Luke‬ ‭1‬:‭26‬-‭38‬‬

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.” “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

Mary chose faith in the face of immense uncertainty. With her answer, Mary literally put her life on the line. Remember she is legally married, betrothed to her husband- to be found pregnant made her guilty of adultery, punishable by death. Her family would likely dis-own her. She could be shunned, kicked out of the house. Unwelcome at home or at church.

And what about Joseph? He certainly got thrust into his own set of uncertainties, didn’t he?

Matthew records his wrestling with it all.

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭1‬:‭18‬-‭24‬‬

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.

Can you imagine the uncertainty that crashed onto the shore of Josephs life when Mary came to him with a baby bump and the story of Gabriel? It had to sound suspect, Joseph knew it wasn’t him. What was he supposed to do? He loved Mary, he loved the Lord, how could this happen?

Joseph’s dreams were seemingly shattered by the mayhem of uncertainty.

But the promise of Presence in the midst of uncertainty changed everything for Joseph.

By all accounts we have, Mary and Joseph were both living for the Lord. They knew is word, they trusted in him, they ordered their lives around following the Lord- but none of that shielded them for facing immense uncertainty.

We think it’s easy because we know how it ends, but there had to be times when the uncertainty was terrifying for this young couple.

The story of Christmas challenges us to see the truth that living in the will of God does not mean the absence of uncertainty. No, rather in Christ you can be sure, even when everything is swirling around.

That’s Immanuel. That’s God with us.

That’s the promise for those in Christ today.

What would it look like for you today to trust God in your uncertainty today No, we don’t know the future. But we can be sure of one thing: God is there

Updates on the new Waynesboro campus

God is inviting us to step out in faith to plant a Spanish-speaking campus in the Waynesboro community. Join us on the journey!

Check out the link below for more information and for frequent updates throughout the journey.

Waynesboro

Giving at COTN

If you ever have questions or need help with online giving, please let us know: finance@cotnaz.org Thank you for your partnership in building the Kingdom of Christ as you impact others!

Giving

https://www.bible.com/events/49178177

Church of the Nazarene – Harrisonburg

God With Us – In the Waiting

The most faithful people of the first advent were the ones who didn’t let waiting cloud their hope.

Today we kick off our Advent series entitled “God with Us”.

Christmas, in a word, is about presence. You can’t talk about the significance of Christmas, the most life-changing story in human history, without talking about presence.

This week we begin by understanding why the presence of God with us is such a foundational part of Christmas, and how we can experience His presence in seasons of waiting.

The presence of God himself, the Creator, coming to take up residence with His creation – in His creation

Matthew 1:18-23

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

Warren Wiersbe

“Jesus is His human name; Christ is His official title; and Emmanuel describes who He is—“God with us.” Jesus Christ is God!

The Israel of Jesus’ day is really not that much different from the plight of many people in our global society. Every day, people suffer the effects of economic, social, and spiritual oppression to which the gospel of Jesus Christ and its message of salvation bring hope and healing.

John 1:14

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:14

The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish.

The presence of ‘God with us’ changes everything.

Malachi 4:2

“But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture.

The Intertestamental Period meant 400 years of waiting.

Some may have seen the time as so long, they forgot about the promised Messiah and went on with their lives…

What about you and I as we wait?

Abraham is a powerful example of patience, perseverance while waiting on the Lord.

The apostle Paul reminds us in his book to the Romans

Romans 4:18-22

Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, “That’s how many descendants you will have!” And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead—and so was Sarah’s womb. Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises. And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous.

2 LIES WE OFTEN BELIEVE IN THE WAITING

1. GOD IS NOT WITH US (ABSENT)

2. GOD IS NOT WORKING (ALOOF)

HOW WE WAIT MATTERS!

IN THE WAITING DO NOT MISS THE LIFE ALTERING REALITY OF CHRISTMAS

GOD IS WITH YOU

Pastor Adrian Mills

“The beauty of Christmas is that Jesus didn’t just show up once, He keeps showing up.”

2 Peter 3:8-9

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

Verses for further study/reflection:

Exodus 33:15

Isaiah 40:31

Isaiah 53

Malachi 4:2-3

Luke 1:18-25

2 Peter 3:8-9

Updates on the new Waynesboro campus

God is inviting us to step out in faith to plant a Spanish-speaking campus in the Waynesboro community. Join us on the journey!

Check out the link below for more information and for frequent updates throughout the journey.

Waynesboro

Giving at COTN

If you ever have questions or need help with online giving, please let us know: finance@cotnaz.org Thank you for your partnership in building the Kingdom of Christ as you impact others!

Giving

https://www.bible.com/events/49176570

Church of the Nazarene – East Rock

God With Us – In the Waiting

The most faithful people of the first advent were the ones who didn’t let waiting cloud their hope.

Today we kick off our Advent series entitled “God with Us”.

Christmas, in a word, is about presence. You can’t talk about the significance of Christmas, the most life-changing story in human history, without talking about presence.

This week we begin by understanding why the presence of God with us is such a foundational part of Christmas, and how we can experience His presence in seasons of waiting.

Matthew 1:18-23

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

-Matthew wants to make sure that we understand more about what type of Savior this would be, so he points back to the prophecy in the book of Isaiah some 700 years earlier. His name literally means, ‘God with us’.

-We live on the other side of Christmas, and the other side of the cross and resurrection. Perhaps it’s difficult to imagine the glory in the presence of God – God actually being with us – unless you know what it’s like to be away from His presence, which is the Israelites had experienced for far too long.

John 1:14

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:14

The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish.

The presence of God with us changes everything.

Over the next few weeks, we are going to talk about what it means that God is with us no matter where we find ourselves:

-He is with us in the waiting…waiting for answers, for the fulfillment of His promise.

-He is with us in our uncertainty, in spite of our doubts and fears.

-He is with us in the midst of obscurity, when our present reality seems insignificant or undesirable.

-He is with us always, both now and for all eternity.

The arrival of Jesus didn’t happen until after there were 400 years of silence. Four centuries of waiting.

-If you think about it, the Christmas story is a story of waiting, so it’s only fitting that we would begin our series talking about “God with us in the waiting.”

-Some may have waited so long; they forgot about the promised Messiah and went on with their lives, or perhaps some believed it was a promise that wouldn’t come true.

-But the people we find in the story of the first Christmas hadn’t forgotten:

Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds. The people present for the young life of Jesus hadn’t let 400 years cloud their memory – the Magi, Simeon and Anna.

Romans 4:18-22

Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, “That’s how many descendants you will have!” And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead—and so was Sarah’s womb. Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises. And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous.

How we wait matters. What we do ‘in the waiting’ matters to God.

That’s why we see Abraham’s name attached to the Christmas story. At the start of Mathew’s Gospel, in the lineage of names, begins with Abraham.

Through Abraham’s obedience, even in the face of waiting, we receive the Presence of God, God with us, Jesus the Messiah.

Matthew 1:1

This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:

Matthew 1:17

Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.

Two questions for us to consider:

1. What are you waiting for?

2. How are you waiting?

Bottom Line:

The most faithful people of the first advent were the ones who didn’t let waiting cloud their hope.

Verses for further study/reflection:

Exodus 33:15

Isaiah 40:31

Isaiah 53

Malachi 4:2-3

Luke 1:18-25

2 Peter 3:8-9

Updates on the new Waynesboro campus

God is inviting us to step out in faith to plant a Spanish-speaking campus in the Waynesboro community. Join us on the journey!

Check out the link below for more information and for frequent updates throughout the journey.

Waynesboro

Giving at COTN

If you ever have questions or need help with online giving, please let us know: finance@cotnaz.org Thank you for your partnership in building the Kingdom of Christ as you impact others!

Giving

https://www.bible.com/events/49173827

Church of the Nazarene – Harrisonburg

Minor Prophets – Malachi

Famous last words

Today we are finishing up our teaching series on the Minor Prophets studying the last recorded words of a prophet named Malachi.

The way our bibles are organized, Malachi literally gets the last word before the New Testament.

We don’t know a lot about Malachi himself. He was prophesying after the children of Israel got to return from exile in Babylon, somewhere around the 5th century.

The Book of Malachi recounts the people’s unfaithfulness through six “disputes” with God. God will call the people out for their sin and rebellion- and they repeatedly deny it.

As you read the words of Malachi, it becomes clear that the people could not discern the real condition of their hearts.

We focus on the farewell words of the Old Testament. Words that gave way to 400 years of silence from God.

In many ways these last words summarize the whole Old Testament, the law of Moses and the prophets. They call people to action through repentance and returning to the Lord. They call on them to remember the words of the prophets, words of warning, words of judgement, and words of hope. This morning we are glancing back to the minor prophets, but with an eye toward the coming advent season.

Malachi 3:1-7

“I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty. But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years. “So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,” says the Lord Almighty. “I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty. “But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’

The Lord points once again to a coming day of judgement for his people. Within this text we see consequences for sin, but we also see a promised effect of God’s coming-

That he would purify and cleanse, and that He will restore proper worship and relationship with Himself.

God takes sin seriously- the minor prophets have shown us that again and again. But we also see the heart of the Father in calling His people to repent and return to him.

God’s heart is not His people’s destruction, but their restoration in relationship with Him.

And that brings us to the famous last words of Malachi.

Malachi 4:5-6

“See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.”

Following these words is 400 years of silence. There were no new prophecies, and no recorded words from the Lord- only the command to remember, to wait, and to watch. And many didn’t.

Finding our place in the story:

1. Sometimes when we should learn our lesson, we don’t. Just like the Israelites who should’ve learned after experiencing exile, and didn’t. They remained unfaithful. Sometimes we learn and, as proven by the people during the time of the Minor Prophet Malachi, sometimes we don’t.

2. You may feel like ‘silence’ is your reality right now. What would it felt like to receive these promises, delivered through the prophet Malachi, and yet receive nothing else from the Lord? Some of us feel as though God’s silence means God’s absence.

Luke 1:11-17

Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Despite all that had gone before, despite a rebellious and disobedient people, by His great grace, God intervened in a moment of time.

The last words of the Old Testament became first cries….

The cries of The Savior.

The famous last words of Malachi point to the messenger and the manger.

Christmas didn’t come because we needed a holiday- it came because we needed a savior.

Updates on the new Waynesboro campus

God is inviting us to step out in faith to plant a Spanish-speaking campus in the Waynesboro community. Join us on the journey!

Check out the link below for more information and for frequent updates throughout the journey.

Waynesboro

Giving at COTN

If you ever have questions or need help with online giving, please let us know: finance@cotnaz.org Thank you for your partnership in building the Kingdom of Christ as you impact others!

Giving